Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL released

Last year’s Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL were among the best smartphones of 2016. With Stock Android, buttery smooth performance, an outstanding camera and Google Assistant, they competed head on with other flagships. Their successors – the Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL are now official. Let’s find out how they stack up in 2017.

Design

From the back, both devices resemble last year’s models. They sport an aluminum chassis, with a glass panel at the top. The glass area is shorter than that of last year’s. Whereas the lens is bigger this time around. The power and volume buttons are on the right side.

Always On Display

The Always-On Display feature listens to any audio playing around you and shows you the song title right from the lock screen. If you tap on the song title Google Assistant will show you further details about that song.

Camera

DXOMark, theThe Google Pixel 2 camera With a score of 98, the Google Pixel 2 trumps both the iPhone 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, which just received a score a 94. With a 1/2.6-inch 12.2 MP sensor and an f/1.8 aperture, the Pixel 2 camera is going to be extremely hard to beat.

Water Resistance

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have water- and dust-resistance ratings of IP67. That means the Pixels can survive in up to 1 meter of fresh water for up to 30 minutes at a time.

No More Headphones Jack

It was one of the rumors that nobody wanted to believe, but unfortunately it’s become a reality. The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL do not feature a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which means you’ll need to rely on your USB Type-C port for wired headphones. That also means you can’t charge your phone and listen with wired headphones at the same time. Boo.

Samsung and LG managed to squeeze a headphone jack in their flagship devices, so why can’t Google?

Squeezable Sides

For the past couple of years, Google and HTC worked together. And, Recently Google bought a part of HTC’s workforce for $1.1 billion. Now some of HTC’s own smartphone features are making their way to Google’s Pixel line.

Now, a similar version of HTC’s Edge Sense is coming to the Pixel line. It’s called Active Edge, and it allows you to squeeze the sides of the Pixel phone to quickly launch the Google Assistant.

Colors

The Pixel 2 will color options are: Just Black, Clearly White, and Kinda Blue. Whereas the Pixel 2 XL will be availale in Just Black and Black & White.

What are your thoughts on the second iteration of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below?